THE 10 MOST CORRUPT CITIES IN AMERICA

"THIS IS GOVERNMENT FOR THE CASINOS, OF THE CASINOS,
AND BY THE CASINOS— AND THE CITIZENS BE DAMMED." Former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller

NO CITY IS IMMUNE TO CORRUPTION, BUT IN A NATIONWIDE SEARCH CONDUCTED
BY THE EDITORS OF GEORGE, WE FOUND TEN STARTLING STORIES OF WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN GOVERNMENT IGNORES ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PEOPLE. SOME OF THE AFFLICTED
CITIES ARE FAMILIAR; OTHERS, SUPRISINGLY OBSCURE. BUT WHAT THEY HAVE IN
COMMON IS THE POTENTIAL FOR REDEMPTION THROUGH THEIR CITIZENS. A WHISTLEBLOWER,
AN ACTIVIST, OR EVEN A DETERMINED VOTER HAS THE POWER TO TURN THINGS AROUND.

TEXT BY CRAIG OFFMAN

The politician who steals is worse than a thief. He is a fool," said
George W. Plunkitt, a turn-of-the-century New York political boss. "With
all the grand opportunities around for the man with a political pull, there’s
no excuse for stealin’ a cent."

Some of the public figures you’ll meet in GEORGE’S list of the ten most
corrupt cities in the U.S. might have impressed Plunkitt with their brazenness-but
not their smarts: They stole, and they got caught. In casting far and wide
for a true portrait of corruption, we discovered not only examples of old-fashioned
theft from the public till but also instances of "political pull," where
government was manipulated to serve a powerful few. We also tracked down
examples where the lack of accountability of public officials to citizens—the
ultimate failure for any city—was so outrageous as to be, on our view,
corrupt.

These ten cities tell stories of public trickery and private greed.
While many other places are also plagued by dishonest officials, the corruption
in these cities is both glaring and ingrained. The costs, whether economic
or psychological, are enormous, leaving residents demoralized and the civic
landscape bleak. These Americans deserve better than they got.

But this journey into the dark side is not without hope: In each of
these cities, individuals are struggling to clean things up and make their
government more responsive. Their efforts, against substantial odds, are
a beacon to us all.

During a press conference two years ago, Harry Pappas, a 43-year-otd
Las Vegas resident, stuck his index finger to his mother's temple and pretended
it was a gun. "That's how the city wants to negotiate.
They put a gun of '‘eminent domain' to your head," he said. Eminent domain
is a government's legal right to take a citizen's property for public use
or if the property is in disrepair. The practice is a way to make room
for roads or parks, with the city paying market value for the seized property.

But critics say Las Vegas exploits eminent domain to heIp the powerful
casino owners and developers at its citizen’s expense. "This is government
for the casinos, of the casinos, and by the casinos - and the citizens
be dammed," says former city councilman Steve Miller.

Since the city's redevelopment began a decade ago, Las Vegas has invoked
eminent domain laws numerous times, seizing private land and offering what
many see as a paltry sum to quiet the former owners. But recently, the
city has been a three-time loser in conflicts over down- town tracts: once
against Chic Hecht, a former U.S. senator; once against the Ray family,
longtime Vegas residents; and now against the Pappases.

The Pappas battle in particular has raised questions about the use of
eminent domain and about the enormous imbalance of power in Las Vegas.
For more than 40 years, Greek immigrants John and Carol Pappas owned a
property on which there was a small shopping center near Fremont Street.
As part of an effort in 1993 to revitalize the battered downtown, authorities
seized the Pappases' 7,000 square foot property to make way for a parking
garage. The car space was needed, officials argued, for the throngs expected
to flock to the newest tourist attraction, the Fremont Street Experience,
a $70 million walkway that boasted the worlds biggest electric light display.

Within days, the city simply gave the casinos the land, thus privatizing
what. was supposed to be for public use. Soon after, bulldozers razed the
Pappas property. The family sued. The first judge on the case resigned
after he revealed that he had a financial interest in a downtown casino.
On the eve of Independence Day 1996, Judge Don Chariez harshly rebuked
Las Vegas and its redevelopment agency for breaking the law. The Pappases
are now suing Mayor Jan Jones and other officials for constitutional rights
violations. 'The cases have already cost the city more than $700,000 in
legal fees.
"The city takes the money that would have gone
back into the community- schools, parks, hospitals, police, and instead
they have given it to the casinos for their development," says former deputy
attorney general Chuck
Gardner. But officials say the downtown redevelopment plans
are crucial to the city's economic health.

Although the slot machines teem with cash, Las Vegas's city coffers
are far from flush. The ratio of 1.7 police officers per 1,000 residents
is among the lowest in the U.S., while the murder rate is among the highest."This
is an extreme example of a company town. I don't know if there has ever
been a situation with so much power concentrated in one industry, says
Gardner. "It is government gone berserk."